It helps, of course, that they're traveling aboard the good ship Disney. The company has put its full weight behind the group with a vision to replicate its wildly lucrative Miley Cyrus/Hannah Montana franchise.
The new Jonas Brothers movie is a page straight from the Cyrus playbook. But mixing up-tempo songs with a you-are-there feel (and a few off-stage vignettes to break up the music), the movie aims squarely for anyone with a Jonas jones who failed to get their in-person concert fix.
"Last year, Miley's 3-D movie (of her Best of Both Worlds tour) opened at $31.1 million and ultimately made $65 million in the U.S.," says Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood .com. "With the success of girl-oriented movies like
Twilight, the timing for a Jonas movie couldn't be better. If they open at $30 million, few would be shocked."
Music is the moneymaker
Big bucks already are flowing, thanks to album sales. The group's latest release,
A Little Bit Longer — their second on Disney's Hollywood Records and a follow-up to the 1.4 million-selling
Jonas Brothers— topped
Billboard's album chart shortly after its August unveiling and has sold close to 1.5 million copies, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Last year's concert tour grossed $41.5 million and was the 13th biggest in North America, "one step above Coldplay," says Gary Bongiovanni, editor of the touring trade publication
Pollstar. "They were the breakout new act of the year. Everyone else out there, from Madonna on down, were the usual suspects. They haven't peaked yet."
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